


The friends we make along the way (aren't always there for us)

by Grimbeak



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Friends to kind-of-not-really-enemies, Goddamnit why do I do this, Insults, Jay angst, Jay needs therapy, Oops, Rain, Self-blaming, The bounty - Freeform, What Have I Done, based off a tumblr discussion, parental figures, season 15 predictions??? kinda??? idk man just read it i swear it makes sense, toxic friends, why do people keep thinking this is multi-chapter it's just a one-shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28298400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grimbeak/pseuds/Grimbeak
Summary: Jay has friends. Definitely.And they care about him. Definitely.Maybe?He's not really sure.All friends purposely insult each other all the time, right?OR,It's really hard to make a summary for this one. Basically, some tumblr ppl n I were talking ab our predictions for season 15 and this shitstorm popped up in my head. Just read it, I swear it's better than I'm making it sound lmao
Relationships: Cole & Lloyd Garmadon & Kai & Nya & Jay Walker & Zane
Comments: 26
Kudos: 35





	The friends we make along the way (aren't always there for us)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Captain_Jade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Jade/gifts), [zappy_noodle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zappy_noodle/gifts).



> *angrily grumbles something about 'your responses giving me ideas' and 'how i wanted to write smthn for it or whatever', shoves this at you, and stalks away*
> 
> So for anyone who isn't insane and likes giving Jay pain like us, let me explain.
> 
> Basically, we have minor spoilers for season 15 already. What we know: Jay pain, it's probably going to be a Nya season, major relationship changes, etc. A hellhole, basically. also, we were talkin ab how the rest of the ninja kinda... aren't that great to Jay. Like, at all. We think he might become a villain (or someone, but imo hopefully jay), so.... yeah. 
> 
> So i decided to write ab it/what i think will happen because i'm a monster and i also have no self-control 
> 
> enjoy

Everything was fine.

Jay half-ran, half-walked down the sidewalk, pulling his hood down in front of his face so no one could recognize him.

Everything was  _ fine.  _

It had just been a joke. Some stupid joke, and definitely not an insult that was going to make Jay start crying if he thought about it. Kai joked all the time. Kind of. 

They weren’t funny jokes, though. 

No one had laughed this time, at least. Cole and Lloyd had just shuffled off awkwardly, while Nya gave her brother a disgusted look. Jay had felt Zane’s concerned eyes on his back as he left the bounty, not sure where he was running to.

It had just been a  _ joke.  _ That was all. No reason for Jay to get so worked up about it.

He slowed, ducking into an ally and leaning against the wall. Rain pitter-pattered against the roof hanging above him, landing on the concrete and turning the sidewalk dark. 

Jay breathed. 

Maybe no one would find him here, and he could just… stay here. Until the rain stopped, until the tears ceased, until the ache in his heart faded away. No one would find him, and he would be OK. He could just go back to the bounty once everything was over, and things would be great. No one would mention it again. (Zane would, maybe, and Nya, apologizing for her brother). 

Master Wu would probably make Kai apologize, the fire ninja refusing to do so on his own. 

_ “Even  _ Dareth  _ is a better ninja than Jay.”  _

It had just been a joke.

...Right? 

Jay had- alright, he admitted he had screwed up. Messed up in his training, accidentally aimed a lightning bolt at Kai instead of Cole. And then Kai had said…  _ that.  _

So maybe it wasn’t a joke. But it was  _ fine.  _ Kai did that all the  _ time,  _ he didn’t really mean it. Definitely. 

Jay  _ liked  _ jokes. Heck, he was basically the  _ master  _ of them, even if the others didn’t agree.

...So why hadn’t he liked this one? 

It was his own fault, he decided. It wasn’t Kai’s fault he made bad jokes  ~~not jokes, really~~ , it was Jay’s for not liking them. Yes. That was it. He’d go back to the bounty, he’d say sorry, and they’d all move on. 

“It wasn’t your fault.”   
  


The voice rang in his ear, and Jay whipped his head around to see-

No one. 

He was alone in the ally, the rain echoing off the rooftops being the only sound he heard.

...OK. So, hearing things now. That wasn’t the best. 

Jay tried to think of any villains that would happen to be lurking in an ally. They hadn’t seen the serpentine in a while, maybe one of them? But there had been no hiss to the words, and besides, most (if not all) the serpentine were peaceful. 

Nadakhan, maybe? A chill ran down Jay’s spine at that thought, and he absently rubbed at a curved scar on his wrist that had never gone away. The djinn had been removed from most everyone’s memories, and as far as Jay knew, still in the Teapot of Tyrahn, wherever that had ended up. 

“No. Not Nadakhan.” 

...Alright, so definitely not hearing things, then. “Who’s there?” Jay demanded, feeling the tell-tale tingle of lightning beneath his skin. He had his powers if he needed them, and he’d taken more than one guy down solo before. 

“A friend,” the voice answered, its owner still unseen. That was bad. Whenever someone you can’t see or touch calls themself a ‘friend’, and you don’t know them, they’re usually not your friend. 

Jay swallowed. “C-come out where I can see you,” he stammered. Dangit, Jay. Don’t let them see you’re afraid. 

There was an amused huff from the darkness, before the outline of a person appeared before stepping out into the hazy light. “Hello, Jay.” 

Jay patted his sides- great, no weapons. Just his lightning, then. “How do you know my name?”

That was… a really stupid question. He was a ninja, for Garmadon’s sake. Literally everyone knew about them. (Well, aside from the occasional enemy from another world or from thousands of years in the past. Usually pirates. Why did it always have to be pirates?) 

“I read your mind, of course.”

That was not the answer Jay had been expecting. “What, like Neuro?” he asked, remembering the elemental master of the mind. Where there two of them, or something?

“You mean my brother?” Well, that cleared that up. “Yes, like Neuro.” A wee bit of sunlight shone onto the figure, and Jay could finally see what they looked like.

They looked quite a lot like Ronin, to be honest. Scrappy clothes, a smile you couldn’t trust, long, light brown hair cascading down their shoulder. Taller than Jay, although that didn’t really matter. Everyone seemed to be taller than him these days. Even Lloyd, sometimes. Usually on Tuesdays. “My name is Cato,” they said, extending a hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Jay hesitated before taking their hand, lightning calming down slightly. “What do you want?”

Cato chuckled. “Straight to the point, I see. You’re having some…  _ troubles  _ with your friends, are you not?”

Jay stiffened, jerking his hand away. “It’s my own fault.”

Cato raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t I just tell you it wasn’t? I can look into your memories- I know what he said to you. You’re wrong- it was his fault, not yours.”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”   
  


“Stop- stop  _ doing that,  _ don’t look into my  _ memories,  _ that’s personal stuff!”

“Mm. Too late.” Cato smiled, slightly. “But they’re not really your friends, are they?”

What? “Wh- what the heck do you  _ mean,  _ of  _ course  _ they’re all my friends. They might be a little mean to me sometimes, yeah, but they’re still my friends!” 

“Are they, though?” Cato leaned in close. “ _ Think,  _ Jay, when was the last time one of them praised you?

“That’s easy, it was-” Jay paused to think. “It was, um…” Seconds ticked by full of silence, Jay’s smile falling more and more every moment. “The last time was…” He… he couldn’t… “H-hold on, I’m sure I can think of one, just give me a minute-”

Cato gave him a sad smile, putting their hand on his shoulder. “And when was the last time one of them insulted you?” 

“Hey, that’s not- I mean, that’s…”

_ “We should send someone expendable… like Jay.”  _

_ “I mean, Jay had to save me just now. Jay!”  _

_ “Then let him bite you!” _

_ “I tried to warn you, but you never listen. Talk, yes. Listen, not so much.” _

_ “And Cole thinks Jay won’t last long in a fight.” _

_ “I’m looking forward to the peace and quiet when you’re out of the tournament.”  _

_ “Anyone who likes Jay that much can’t be normal.” _

Jay stilled, gaze shifting to the ground. “They… they don’t care about me.” 

“Mm.” Cato pulled him close, arms wrapping around him. “It’ll be alright.”

“They’re… they’re my  _ friends,”  _ Jay whispered. “They’re supposed to at least  _ like  _ me.” He roused himself, pushing away slightly. “Nya does.”   


  
“Does she? From what you can remember, she mocks you for your interests. Sure, she loves you, but she’s not very nice to you, is she?”   


“I don’t…”   


“It’ll be OK, Jay. I’ll take care of you now. And we can take. them.  _ down.”  _

Jay jerked away from Cato’s embrace, eyes wide and thoughts racing. “That’s not-  _ no,  _ even if- even if they don’t care about me, I’m not going evil! That’ll… I don’t want to hurt innocent people.”   
  


Cato offered him a smile and a hand. “It’ll be alright. We don’t have to attack civilians, just… those who have wronged you. Even your teacher, Master Wu has wronged you. He knows much, correct? So why didn’t he tell you that you were adopted? Why didn’t he say anything about your mother, or what happened to her?”

“That’s not… he didn’t know, he  _ couldn’t  _ have-”

“Come with me, Jay. I can help you find yourself- find your past, your memories. True friends who don’t talk dirty about you behind your back. We don’t even have to hurt your ex-friends if you don’t want to. I can protect you.”

Jay gave them a small smile.

He took their hand.

***

“I didn’t  _ mean  _ to make him upset!”

Nya glared at her brother. “But you did. And now he’s run off to who-knows-where, and just-  _ ugh,  _ what is  _ wrong  _ with you?!” 

Kai threw up his hands in exasperation. “I didn’t see  _ you  _ standing up for him! And you’re together! Shouldn’t you be all la-de-da, in love?”

Nya threw a spare pillow at him, and Kai ducked. His sister wasn’t pulling any punches today, apparently. “We  _ are,  _ thank you very much. You’ve… you haven’t been exactly  _ nice  _ to him, lately,” she snapped.

“It’s just jokes.” Even Kai didn’t completely believe that. “Fine, I’ll stop. You’ll have to make Cole and the others stop too- they all like teasing him.”

Before Nya could answer, there was a surprised yell from outside. Then Lloyd’s voice rang through the bounty. “Uh, guys? We have trouble!”

Kai practically dove towards the door, his sister following a second later. It was getting dark out- rain-filled clouds had been hovering over Ninjago for the past few days, and they seemed ready to burst. It had been sprinkling about thirty minutes earlier, a test rain before the actual battle. 

A figure was standing on deck, dressed in dark robes. Their long hair was tied into a braid, and they held two katanas. “Hello, ninja.” Their voice was deep, and rich, like the chocolate cakes Cole liked to eat so much.

“Who are you?” Kai demanded. Under his breath, he whispered to Lloyd, “Is Jay back yet?”

The white-haired teen shook his head, already in a fighting stance. “He hasn’t come back since you snapped at him,” he murmured, and Kai winced. It had been over an hour now. 

“I,” the intruder said, “am here to tell you something.” They tossed something onto the deck. “Or, rather, someone else is.”

Lloyd, cat instincts activating, eyed the figure before darting forward to grab the object. Upon pulling back, he opened his fist and nearly dropped the thing in surprise. “Oh, no.” 

“What is it?” SIlently, Lloyd dropped the mystery object into Kai’s hand, and the fire ninja’s eyes widened. “ _ No.”  _

The iron lightning bolt Jay always wore on his uniform stared him in the face, speckles of water reflecting the fading light as the first droplets fell from the sky.

Nya leaned over his shoulder. “What is it-” she fell silent as soon as she saw, her face growing cold and still. “Where is he,” she snarled at the invader. “ _ Where is he.”  _

“Jay’s alive,” the person said simply. “He’s perfectly fine.”

“I don’t believe you,” Nya growled, rain falling faster instead of stopping as she struggled to control her emotions. “Give him to us!”

“ _ Give  _ him to you? ...Oh, no. You must be mistaken. Jay’s his own person. Aren’t you, Jay?” The figure stepped aside to reveal…

Kai’s heart skipped a beat.

_ No.  _

Jay stood there, in a mix between his regular ninja garb and the black worn by the intruder. He was staring at the ground, his fluffy hair almost completely flattened by the rain at this point. He looked up, offering a weak smile. “Hey, guys.”

Nya let out a stifled gasp while Kai lunged forward, grabbing the lightning ninja’s arm and starting to drag him towards the others. “Where have you  _ been,  _ what are you  _ doing,  _ are you OK? Did they hurt you?”

Jay jerked his arm out of Kai’s grip and the master of fire stumbled back a few steps before standing there, stunned. “I’m… I’m fine,” Jay mumbled. “Cato didn’t hurt me.” 

“Great, you’re back, so let’s  _ go.”  _ Kai made another swipe at Jay’s arm, but the teen dodged it, moving slightly backward. “The heck you doing?” Without giving the blue ninja a chance to answer, Kai turned to Cato and bowed in thanks. “Thank you for returning Jay to us. You can go now.”

“Oh, no,” Cato explained, offering an arm to Jay. He hesitated before taking it. “We’re not here so Jay can come back.”   
  


“What?” The outburst came from Nya, who stepped forward. “Jay, what do they mean?”

Jay bit his lip- he did that a lot when he was nervous, Kai remembered. “I’m... I’m not coming back,” Jay blurted out. 

What. 

“ _ What?!”  _ It came from Lloyd, this time, who took a step forward. Jay’s eyes widened and he stepped back slightly, forcing the green ninja to stop. “Jay, what do you mean you’re not coming back.”

“It’s just…” Jay paused, clearly uncomfortable. He looked up at Cato. “Can you… uh…”   
  


“Of course.” Cato stepped forward, offering an apologetic smile to the remaining ninja. “Jay no longer wishes to stay with you, or be friends with you, due to the way you have treated him in the past.” 

“He- what?” Kai shook his head hard, trying to process this new information. “I’m not- I mean, he’s only- they’re just jokes, that’s all.”

“If they were jokes,” Cato mused, “then why were you the only one laughing?”

That was-

Oh.

“Jay, I…” Kai offered a hand to the master of lightning one more time, and again he refused. “I didn’t mean… I’m sorry, OK?”

“‘s too late,” Jay muttered, before looking at all of them. “Just… don’t try to find us, OK?”

“Wait, no, waitwaitwait JAY!” 

But the former ninja and his new friend were both gone, flying away from the bounty on the back of Jay’s dragon, formed by his emotions.

The rain continued to fall.

And Jay was gone forever. 

**Author's Note:**

> Cato is a better parental figure than I expected them to be. I thought they'd be more evil and then I was stressing ab that being homophobic (i'm literally pan/poly/ace n also genderqueer/trans what), but then they turned out to be actually pretty chill so that's good. 
> 
> Also I don't think they mentioned their pronouns being they/them to Jay even after we cut off from his POV, so that literally means Jay looked at them and was like "oh that's a they/them. nonbinary right there, yup". 
> 
> Also Cato was literally just like "oop sad child,,,, guess i gotta become a parent figure now,,, where's the adoption papers" we stan
> 
> also he/they Ronin? discuss 
> 
> Comments are appreciated, thanks for reading.


End file.
